16.7.17

Little Known Game of Thrones Season 7 Facts about Dragonstone to Get You through Another Day of Waiting

The upcoming season of Game of Thrones (Season 7) is just a
day away, and we at Happy Daily PH are absolutely giddy about it! To celebrate
the return of our beloved series, we’ve rounded up some cool and interesting
facts you might want to take note of as you prepare for this coming season.
(Warning: Some possible spoilers ahead!)

The first three titles for this season have been released,
the first of which is “Dragonstone”. Fans have been speculating on its
significance, hence come some theories. Let’s now take a look at what it could
possibly mean.

First, Dragonstone is the island where Daenerys sets foot
first upon arriving at Westeros, after sailing from Essos in the finale of
Season 6. Found at the Blackwater Bay’s mouth, Dragonstone is top class especially
when one tries to reach Westeros.

Dragonstone had a fine and memorable history, most especially
since this was where Aegon the Conqueror staged grounds to conquer the Seven Kingdoms.
And even before Aegon’s rule, the Valyrians already considered this as their
westernmost outpost. The Valyrians were known for their fearsome metallurgy and
magic – also leading them to create Valyrian steel, then utilized to establish
the island’s stronghold, a splendid castle with dragons as decorations.

After 200 years, House Targaryen’s little Daenys (from a
minor house in Old Valyria), dreamed about Valyria’s doom through a cataclysmic
happening that would destroy the whole empire as well as the dragons. With this,
Aenar, her father, decided on their evacuation to Dragonstone to secure their
family. True enough, 12 years after, the Doom did occur and damaged Valyria. Fortunately,
the Targaryens survived after having relocated at Dragonstone, thus preserving
their lineage.

Following six generations, Aegon, a Targaryen prince,
traveled to the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros and dreamed of uniting them all into
one continent. He, together with his sister-wives and their dragons, went to
the different kingdoms and were successful in uniting them. Aegon had a stronghold
developed at the Blackwater Rush’s mouth, the Aegonfort, to be able to head
Westeros from the mainland. Later on, a city was developed from the fort, then
constructed into a huge castle – then known to be King’s Landing together with
the Red Keep.

As the Targaryen rulers dominated Westeros for the next centuries,
the rulers moved to King’s Landing from Dragonstone. Their rule lasted for
about 300 years until Robert’s Rebellion took place and when Jaime Lannister
pierced the Mad King Aerys’ back.

Prior to King Aerys’ death, he ordered that his sister-wife
Queen Rhaella be sent to Dragonstone for safety. During that period, they had
two sons and she was pregnant with a daughter. Prince Rhaegar, however, was
killed during the Battle of Trident, while Viserys was just a small boy. Upon reaching
Dragonstone, on a stormy evening (the strongest one during that time) Rhaella
gave birth to a baby girl she named Daenerys (hence, Daeny got the nickname “Stormborn”,
also the title of GOT Season 7’s second episode).